Various apparatuses can include a substrate, a device provided on one or more substrates, etc. Such devices can include one or more of electrochromic (EC) devices, light emitting diodes (OLEDs), photovoltaics (PV), thin film devices, thin film battery devices, some combination thereof, etc. In some cases, an apparatus can be located in an environment which includes environmental elements which can damage or degrade the device, substrate, etc. For example, an EC device may be exposed to an ambient environment in which the ambient environment is a mixture of ambient air and water vapor. Environmental elements, which can include one or more various instances of particulate matter, precipitation, gases, liquids, solids, etc., from the ambient environment can permeate through various layers of various apparatuses, including EC devices. For example, environmental elements can include one or more of water, oxygen, some combination thereof, etc., and where an apparatus includes a EC device is sensitive to water (also referred to herein as sensitivity to “moisture”), permeation of water to the EC device can cause degradation of one or more elements of the EC device, which can result in degraded functionality of the EC device. Degraded functionality of an EC device can include a degraded structural ability of the EC device to change coloration based at least in part upon applied electric potential. Various other apparatuses, including organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), photovoltaics (PV), thin film devices, some combination thereof, etc. can be sensitive to one or more various environmental elements.
In some cases, an apparatus is structured to include a barrier layer which provides at least some protection against environmental element permeation from the ambient environment. In some cases, an applied barrier layer is referred to as an “encapsulation layer”, “encapsulation stack,” or the like. Such structuring of an apparatus may be referred to as “passivating” the apparatus, and an apparatus structured to restrict environmental element permeation between environmental element-sensitive portions of the apparatus and the external environment via one or more barriers may be referred to as a “passivated” apparatus.
A barrier layer applied to an apparatus can, in some cases, include imperfections, defects, etc. which can result in permeation “pathways” through the barrier layer via which environmental elements can pass, thereby leading to environmental element permeation through the barrier layer. Such defects can result from the presence of particles on an exposed apparatus surface to which an encapsulation stack is applied. In some cases, a particle can be deposited on an exposed surface as a result of one or more portions of a barrier layer-application process.
In some cases, the presence of particles on an exposed surface can result in the formation of gaps, also referred to interchangeably herein as “gap spaces” in an applied barrier layer. Such gap space formation can result from the presence, on an exposed surface, of a particle which is substantially larger in diameter than the applied barrier layer thickness, such that the stress on portions of the barrier layer surrounding the particle result in localized weakening in adhesion of the barrier layer, which can result in localized barrier layer detachment, failure, etc. around the particle. For example, some barrier layer application processes include Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) which provides a conformal, thin layer of a permeation-resistant material on an exposed surface. In some cases, particles present on the exposed surface prior to, or as a result of, the barrier layer application process can be substantially thicker (i.e., wider in diameter) than the thickness of the barrier layer applied via ALD, resulting in formation of a gap space in the barrier layer, where the gap space provides a permeation pathway for environmental elements to pass from an external environment to the apparatus.
The various embodiments described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. Specific embodiments are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word “may” is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words “include,” “including,” and “includes” mean including, but not limited to.